Textures in Art with Antoni Gaudí - Created by Mindy Kirton - Palos Verdes Art Center
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2020 2021
Textures in Art with Antoni Gaudí
Created by Mindy Kirton
March, 2020
Motivation
Inspired by the textures found in the architectural designs of Antoni Gaudi, students will explore
creating actual texture on a clay surface. They will make the clay by combining flour, salt, and water
and lay it out on a piece of cardboard. Texture will be enhanced by adding tiles, beads, or glass
pebbles and paint.
Student Objectives
• Introduce students to the ornate architectural designs of Antoni Gaudí
• Learn to create actual texture, emphasizing balance and harmony.
• Demonstrate skill in use of tools and process: clay and tilework.
Historical and Cultural Connections
Antoni Gaudí i Cornet was a famous Spanish Modernist architect born June 25, 1852 in
Catalonia, northern Spain and was the youngest of 5 children. He had really bad health when he was
younger, so he spent a lot of his time alone or outdoors studying nature. When he got older he was
apprenticed at a textile mill. Later he moved to Barcelona to study architecture. He graduated in 1878
and went to work as a draftsman drawing buildings for various architects and construction
contractors. His first designs were for lamp posts and his first house design, the Casa Vicens is
considered one of the first significant buildings in the Art Nouveau movement.
His buildings go beyond just simple structures and every inch of the outsides and much of the insides
were usually carved, twisted or covered in colorful tilework of glass, ceramic, marble and stone called
trencadís (or chopped) mosaics. Because most of his designs are curved, cutting tiles and placing
them by hand was impractical. The story goes that one day Gaudí visited the ceramics workshop of
Lluís Bru and, when he saw how slowly he was putting the [tile] pieces in place, Gaudí got impatient,
grabbed a tile, broke it and said: “We have to put them on by the handful, like this, or we’ll never
finish!” The rough mosaic allowed Gaudi to use tiles flexibly even on rounded shapes. It also allowed
him to recycle and reuse materials.
He was inspired by oriental arts in India, Persia and Japan, the Moorish influence of art in southern
Spain, and later was influenced by then neo-Gothic movement in France which was in fashion at the
time. His later more organic style of work was inspired by nature, and many of his details were
whimsical and unexpected.
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He paid attention not only to the form of the building, but to each of the details including the
ironwork, carpentry, stained glass, ceramics, plaster and window placement for optimal lighting.
Every part had to be harmonious to other pieces and well-proportioned including the furniture and
lighting fixtures on the inside of the buildings and the landscaping outside. He also designed
outdoor public places such as the Parque Güell which was commissioned by his rich patron Eusebi
Güell who discovered Antoni and his work at the World’s Fair in Paris In 1878.
Gaudi never married and devoted his entire life to his work. He received many honors for his unusual
building designs, but his greatest accomplishment was his work on the Basilica la Sagrada Familia, in
Barcelona. From 1915 until his death* in 1926 he devoted himself entirely to the project. Several of
Gaudi’s buildings including Casa Batlló known by the locals as the ‘house of bones’ because of its
organic structure, have been granted World Heritage status by UNESCO and each year since 2013
on June 10, the day Antonio died, the World Art Nouveau Day is celebrated. He is one of the world’s
most notable modern artists.
(*He was hit by a street trolley on his way to work and was knocked unconscious. Everyone thought
he was a beggar and didn’t offer aid until someone finally called him a taxi to the hospital where he
was recognized by one of the ministers at the Sagrada Familia who knew him. He passed away two
days later – but best to leave this part out for younger kids.)
Vocabulary
Art Nouveau: In architecture, this style is defined by its ornate paper mâché or terra
cotta decorations, often times painted pastel colors, covering a building or surface.
Balance: The way in which the elements in visual arts are arranged to create a feeling of equilibrium
in a work of art. The three types of balance are symmetry, asymmetry, and radial.
Contrast: The arrangement of opposite elements to create an effect. For instance, dark and
light, smooth and rough, or large and small.
Harmony: The way all elements in a design flow together peacefully and support each other.
Modernism: An art style inspired by the industrial revolution’s technological advances.
Neo-Gothic or Gothic: The revival in architecture used pointed arches, fancy carvings, elaborate
spires, and steep roofs.
Organic: Art that shows movement, twists and natural curves and edges.
Positive and Negative Space: Art that uses both the shape of the main object (positive space) and
the area surrounding it (negative space) as part of the interest in the artwork
Texture: The way the surface of a work of art looks or feels smooth, rough, shiny, fuzzy, etc.
Tilework: The use of small pieces of colored glass or ceramic to cover a surface.
Supplies:
Air dry clay or Salt dough (recipe to follow)
Mosaic tiles (rounded not sharp glass)
Cardboard carton board
White glue
Watercolor or acrylic paints
Brushes for glue and paint
Water container
Paper towel
Pencil
Assorted items to create texture: rocks, beads, brushes, combs, roller, etc.
Scissors
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Salt Dough Recipe:
• 1 cup flour
• 1/4 cup salt
• 1/2 cup water
Mix together and knead for 1-2 minutes until smooth. Dough should not be sticky or crumbly, modify
small amounts of water/flour as needed. Will make one project.
Set-up: Video Instruction:
• Ingredients for salt dough
• Cardboard: Cut square or rectangle from a carton (about 8” X 10”)
• White glue and brush
• Assorted items to make textures
• Assorted tiles, beads, and stones
• Watercolor paint, brush, water container, and paper towel
• Access to artist’s video
• AAYF project label cut out
Step-by-Step:
1. Complete the AAYF project label:
• Cut out the label, following shape lines as a guide.
• Holding the cardboard horizontal, glue the label onto the board.
• Turn cardboard over.
• Set scissors aside.
2. Start artist’s video: Pause the video whenever additional time is needed to complete a task.
3. Coat the cardboard in glue.
4. Place a flattened lump of clay in the middle of the cardboard and squish flat to ¼ inch around the
board. Trim off excess clay.
5. Use the tools to make impressions in the clay, pinch parts upwards or use extra clay to create
ridges to divide the art into sections. Focus on balance and harmony as well as contrast in
creating the patterns.
• Include gemstones, crystals, or mosaic tiles. Glue in place if necessary.
• Paint the clay using different colors in depressions or on ridges. If you are using
watercolor it can be done immediately or after it dries. If you are using acrylic, wait until
the artwork dries completely. Use glue to fix any bits that don’t stick.
6. Once dried, art can be sprayed with clear acrylic spray and mounted on black museum board
with foam tape, or hung as is.
Project Notes:
• Drying time on this project varies depending on the clay and the humidity. If the clay isn’t
dry in 3 days you can place the art on a baking sheet and place in a low oven (under 200
degrees) for 30 min to an hour.
• Salt dough will feel rubbery even when dry in thicker areas of the artwork.
• Keep students from pressing the dough all the way to the cardboard.
Additional Resources:
https://www.biography.com/artist/antoni-gaudi
https://www.casabatllo.es/en/antoni-gaudi/
https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/320/
Who is Gaudi? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EF-xx2grnkY
Time documentary Sagrada Familia: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4GXJS547q
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Aesthetic Valuing
1. What was your favorite tool for making texture?
2. What shapes and colors did you repeat to create harmony?
3. Did you enjoy the process of making your own clay?
4. Would you like to live in a house designed by Gaudi?
About Mindy Kirton, Presenting Artist
Mindy Kirton has been drawing and painting from a very young age and loves color and the creative
process. She graduated with a degree in Graphic Design and Advertising from Utah State University
and currently runs her own freelance design business. She has lived in California for 7 years and for
most of that she's volunteered as the project manager for the Art to Grow On program in San Pedro.
She loves teaching art to students and watching as they create something beautiful.
Art At Your Fingertips is a Palos Verdes Art Center school-based outreach program in partnership
with the Palos Verdes Unified School District and the Palos Verdes Library District. Founded in 1976,
this volunteer program annually brings quality visual arts education to almost 7,000 transitional
kindergarten through fifth grade students at public and private schools on the Palos Verdes Peninsula
as well as schools and organizations beyond the Peninsula.
We thank PTA, PTO, and Booster Club for their support.
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